


Fireworks

by ObtuseOctopus



Series: Living in Hue [13]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fourth of July, Gem Egg Hell, Gemlings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObtuseOctopus/pseuds/ObtuseOctopus
Summary: • COMPLETE •Lapis and Peridot are in charge of the gemlings during Fourth of July.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Series: Living in Hue [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615498
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Fireworks

As the gemling pressed another glob of paint onto the paper in front of her, Lapis nodded with approval. “Just like that,” she beamed, encouraging her daughter to add some more color onto the piece. “Here- do you want to try some yellow?” The former terraformer grabbed a small bottle of yellow paint, offering it to the small Gem.

But, Emily whacked it out of her mother’s hand. She instead reached over for blue. “Boo! Boo!” She pointed.

Lapis lifted the yellow bottle back up to avoid any spill then passed the blue. “Good taste,” she shrugged, glancing over at Peridot beside her. “Hey, you got them those ear plug things, right?” She asked Peridot.

“I thought Bismuth was getting those,” Peridot said. In her lap, she held Pea, who was more interested in watching the fireflies fly around in the air.

“She better get here before the fireworks then…” Lapis sighed. “They’re sensitive.” 

“We could always move them to the Temple just for tonight,” Peridot suggested. She glanced back at the large building behind them, empty for tonight as everybody was on the beach waiting in anticipation for the main event.

“What’s the point of this again?” Lapis asked, pocketing the idea.

“It’s a human ceremony celebrating some part of their culture with explosive colored gunpowder,” Peridot explained. “As quoted from Pearl.”

“I’m only here for Steven,” Lapis murmured. “He only visits us a few times now anyway. Might as well enjoy it.” Though they did sit a bit far from everyone else, just in case the gemlings ended up not liking the occasion and wanted to go home.

“I’m here for Steven, the babies, and… you,” Peridot said, now at work prying open Pea’s mouth to get a firefly out of it. “Oh come on, Pea! That thing could have sooo many bacteria!”

“Protein,” Lapis shrugged, watching on standby.

“They were much better to care for when they were just eggs,” Peridot sighed. Pea chewed on the firefly.

“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t get something like this,” Lapis picked up the painting that Emily had lost interest in, showing it off to the technician. “It’s her little gift to you.” She smiled.

“That’s a lot of blue,” Peridot commented.

“Because I’m her favorite,” Lapis teased.

Peridot scrunched up her face. “You can’t be! I’m the one that taught her how to grow corn!”

“I had her,” Lapis topped.

“That’s nothing, anybody can do that!”

“Come on, just take it. She put a lot of thought into it,” Lapis coaxed.

“I… I guess she did. Alright! I’ll take it as a sign of her emotional connection to me,” Peridot decided, taking the painting. 

Lapis gathered up the paints, allowing Emily to climb onto her back where the gemling snuggled into the back of her neck- their most favorite place, hypothesized by Peridot to be one of the comfiest and warmest places for the gemlings to hang onto to stay close to their mother. The ocean Gem didn’t mind the wet paint on her daughter’s hands, managing to grab all the paint bottles in her arms.

“I’m going to put the paints back,” Lapis told Peridot after she stood up.

“What if you miss the show?!” Peridot fretted.

“I won’t, trust me,” Lapis laughed. “It’s taking a longer time than I thought. I could let her paint some more, but I don’t want it to be a bigger mess.”

“Mess? Lapis, this is a work of art!” Peridot proudly displayed Emily’s painting. “This glob right here represents the-“

“No, silly. I mean the paint all over her,” Lapis snorted. “She’s an artist. Just like mom, huh?” She turned her head slightly, talking to her youngest daughter on her back.

“Just wait until she can fly, then she will be more like her mother,” Peridot bet.

“She might not. She might be able to throw metal around, who knows?” Lapis started to travel back towards Little Homeworld, summoning her wings and taking off once assured her daughter was secure.

Peridot set the painting down beside her, flashing a disappointed look at Pea. “If you start glowing or flying, I’m not being held responsible,” she huffed. “I can’t believe you just ATE a firefly- that’s disgusting! But… gah, alright, I can’t be mad at you for too long. You are a part of Lapis, and you do make a good point with that…  _ cute _ face of yours. You look more like Lapis than your sister, oddly. And I made the other one! What’s your secret? Did you get to choose your form? Ooh, do you think you can evolve the more you are cared for like with the baby bird Lapis and I took care of once?” She scrunched up her face, wrinkling her brows and nose.

Pea simply sneezed in reply.

“Hm. Interesting response,” Peridot noted. “I’ll have to keep that in mind and try it sometime.” She tensed when Pea laid down in her lap, the gemling stifling a yawn. “What are you… doing? Wait, I know this! You’re tired, and you need to replenish. I’m familiar with this, Lapis snores in her sleep and she sleeps almost all the time,” she proudly said, a hand on her own chest. 

Peridot watched over the small Gem, also watching some Gems play a game of volleyball on the beach in the distance out of the corner of her eye. When Lapis finally returned, the former terraformer descended from the sky, her water wings retreating into her gemstone when her feet touched the ground.

“Did I miss it?” Lapis asked, Emily still on her back.

Peridot shook her head. “The quartzes are tied six to six with the nephrites,” she said regarding the volleyball game. “And there’s no fireworks still.”

“How about Pea?”

“She’s sleeping,” Peridot showed the gemling in her lap. “I uh, don’t want to get up, because I don’t want to disturb her.”

“Aww… she looks so peaceful,” Lapis gushed. “They do need their sleep. They’re just babies.” She frowned lightly, observing the two. 

Peridot glanced back up. “What’s the matter?” She questioned, catching the look.

Lapis sighed. “It’s just that…” she sat down beside the smaller green Gem. “... Thanks. For staying with me through this.”

Peridot blinked. “You don’t have to say thanks or anything, it’s-“

“But I mean it. You supported me, even if I was a hindrance. And on top of that, you stayed to help me care for them.”

“You’re not a hindrance, Lapis.”

“I feel like I am sometimes.”

Peridot frowned. “You’re not a hindrance,” she repeated, firmly. “It’s just gemlings! Even if one of them isn’t mine, so what? They’re still both my clods now.”

“You’re such a sap.”

“And also the leader of the Crystal Gems,” Peridot bragged.

“Fine, and leader of the Crystal Gems,” Lapis added, knowing it was untrue. She leaned against Peridot, resting her head against her shoulder.

Peridot, surprised, warmed up to the physical contact. Moments like this when they could just sit back and relax were her favorite, especially when surrounded by those she cared for.

A loud boom suddenly sounded in the night sky, followed by sparks of pink and purple. Gems and humans that had gathered clapped and whistled. The two gemlings, startled, jumped out of their slumbering states, beginning to wail in response to the commotion.

“Temple?” Peridot said, spooked by the brood.

“Temple,” Lapis agreed, rounding up her children. Perhaps the fireworks would be a good idea next year, but not this year.


End file.
